Re: Keyboard news
"marzolian" <[email protected]> Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:27:08 -0000
| Newsgroups | gmane.comp.hardware.altkeyboards |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
--RsX3NHMLGX8Q-f-W47G0OFFzUzbtTuiH1hcPx2b Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi, Giles. Glad to see that there's still interest in the group. I have most of what I like in a keyboard. For both home and office, I use a= MS Natural Elite keyboard with a Wow-Pen Joy mouse. I am a big fan of the = contoured keyboard; to me it was a much bigger improvement than the Dvorak = layout. When I sit at a flat keyboard or use a regular mouse it feels wrong= , or twisted. I tried Dvorak (for a few months in the last millenium) but I had lots of t= rouble switching back and forth (was working short-term assignments where I= couldn't switch). Also annoying was the Ctrl-X / C / V assignments. For th= at reason, I would consider Colemak, maybe, one day. I think my ideal keyboard would be ergonomic, in the style of the Natural E= lite, with a cursor device such as a J-mouse (no touch pad) in the middle o= f the keys, or something like a Rollermouse below the space bar. I like the= buckling spring action, but not the noise. And I wish somebody would make = an ergo keyboard without the leftward slant. The right hand's fairly comfor= table, actually, it's just the left side. Thinking farther out, I would like to try something like a data glove -- wh= ere my fingers would twitch but not have to touch a physical keyboard. But = I have been waiting for that for about 15 years, and it ain't happening yet= . Cheers, Steven Marzuola www.techlanguage.com --- In [email protected], Giles Orr <gilesorr@...> wrote: > > I'm still very interested in keyboards - so I've been sad to see > altkeyboards become moribund. Is it because everybody's got their > perfect keyboard? That seems a little unlikely. I've never wanted > this to be a high traffic list, but it's always interested me so it'd > be nice to see some traffic. >=20 > In an effort to get some discussion going, I'm going to toss out > various keyboard news I have. >=20 > As a reminder, I use the Dvorak keyboard layout, I own two Kinesis > Advantage keyboards (which I highly recommend), and two or three IBM > model Ms (the Kinesis physical layout is better, but buckling springs > are the best keyswitches EVER). I bought a friend an IBM keyboard for > Christmas - the one that imitates a Thinkpad keyboard, complete with > pointing device in the centre of the keyboard. It feels better than > the actual Thinkpad keyboards - I think it may have a millimeter more > throw. It's a nice board if you like that kind of thing. >=20 > My most recent purchase was two days ago, a CoolerMaster Quick Fire > keyboard. I bought it because Canada Computers had it on sale for $64 > and it has Cherry blue keyswitches and feels fantastic (not quite > buckling spring, but still very good). It's small and quite heavy, > kind of mimicking the model M - except for the complete lack of a > numerical keypad. >=20 > This has only increased my desire to convert one of my Kinesis > Advantage keyboards from the original Cherry browns to Cherry blues. > With assistance from a friend who's an electronics tech, I've > de-soldered all the switches in the hand wells but haven't done the > central Space-Enter-Delete-Backspace pods - I think I'm going to leave > them alone, although I've purchased enough keyswitches to do them if I > decide to. The switches should arrive later in the week. One of the > tricky bits about this process is that the Cherry blues aren't readily > available with diodes in them, while the removed Cherry browns have > diodes in to construct the keyboard matrix circuit. So we're going to > have to solder a diode across two of the connectors on each switch. >=20 > And moving into the Android world ... The physical keyboard for my > Asus Transformer is among the worst mechanical keyboards I've ever > encountered - it feels bad, it bounces or doesn't respond, and it's > almost impossible to avoid hitting the touchpad. And yet if you have > a Transformer, I would still recommend getting it for the battery, the > extra ports, and the ability to type on a physical keyboard, no matter > how bad. >=20 > Virtual keyboards: if you're in the Android world, I highly recommend > getting the totally free (no advertising, no nothing) "Hacker's > Keyboard" from the Market. It has arrow keys (think about that). > That allows Shift-arrow to select text. It has a Control key - which > allows Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, and Ctrl-X for copy, paste, and cut. And it > has a number row. Not sure how well this would work on a phone, but > it's fantastic on a tablet. I've also been reasonably pleased with > the SlideIT virtual keyboard, which costs money (not sure how much) - > you slide your finger from one key to another to construct words. For > most people, this will increase their text input speed considerably. > I toggle back and forth between it and the Hacker's keyboard depending > on what I'm working on: if it's scripting, Hacker's keyboard. If it's > an email, SlideIT. >=20 > Has anyone got Android to do Dvorak on a physical keyboard (without > rooting or Cyanogen Mod)? Cyanogen Mod will likely be my final > answer, but it's not considered stable on the Transformer yet. And I > don't want to try to root it at the moment. >=20 > Have a great day, and I hope to hear from some of you soon. >=20 > --=20 > Giles > http://www.gilesorr.com/ > gilesorr@... > --RsX3NHMLGX8Q-f-W47G0OFFzUzbtTuiH1hcPx2b Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <html> <head> </head> <body style="background-color: #fff;"> <span style="display:none"> </span> <!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStartT|**|-~--> <div id="ygrp-mlmsg" style="position:relative;"> <div id="ygrp-msg" style="z-index: 1;"> <!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEndT|**|-~--> <div id="ygrp-text" > <p>Hi, Giles. Glad to see that there's still interest in the group.<br> <br> I have most of what I like in a keyboard. For both home and office, I use a MS Natural Elite keyboard with a Wow-Pen Joy mouse. I am a big fan of the contoured keyboard; to me it was a much bigger improvement than the Dvorak layout. When I sit at a flat keyboard or use a regular mouse it feels wrong, or twisted.<br> <br> I tried Dvorak (for a few months in the last millenium) but I had lots of trouble switching back and forth (was working short-term assignments where I couldn't switch). Also annoying was the Ctrl-X / C / V assignments. For that reason, I would consider Colemak, maybe, one day.<br> <br> I think my ideal keyboard would be ergonomic, in the style of the Natural Elite, with a cursor device such as a J-mouse (no touch pad) in the middle of the keys, or something like a Rollermouse below the space bar. I like the buckling spring action, but not the noise. And I wish somebody would make an ergo keyboard without the leftward slant. The right hand's fairly comfortable, actually, it's just the left side.<br> <br> Thinking farther out, I would like to try something like a data glove -- where my fingers would twitch but not have to touch a physical keyboard. But I have been waiting for that for about 15 years, and it ain't happening yet.<br> <br> Cheers,<br> <br> Steven Marzuola<br> www.techlanguage.com<br> <br> --- In <a href="mailto:altkeyboards%40yahoogroups.com">[email protected]</a>, Giles Orr <gilesorr@...> wrote:<br> ><br> > I'm still very interested in keyboards - so I've been sad to see<br> > altkeyboards become moribund. Is it because everybody's got their<br> > perfect keyboard? That seems a little unlikely. I've never wanted<br> > this to be a high traffic list, but it's always interested me so it'd<br> > be nice to see some traffic.<br> > <br> > In an effort to get some discussion going, I'm going to toss out<br> > various keyboard news I have.<br> > <br> > As a reminder, I use the Dvorak keyboard layout, I own two Kinesis<br> > Advantage keyboards (which I highly recommend), and two or three IBM<br> > model Ms (the Kinesis physical layout is better, but buckling springs<br> > are the best keyswitches EVER). I bought a friend an IBM keyboard for<br> > Christmas - the one that imitates a Thinkpad keyboard, complete with<br> > pointing device in the centre of the keyboard. It feels better than<br> > the actual Thinkpad keyboards - I think it may have a millimeter more<br> > throw. It's a nice board if you like that kind of thing.<br> > <br> > My most recent purchase was two days ago, a CoolerMaster Quick Fire<br> > keyboard. I bought it because Canada Computers had it on sale for $64<br> > and it has Cherry blue keyswitches and feels fantastic (not quite<br> > buckling spring, but still very good). It's small and quite heavy,<br> > kind of mimicking the model M - except for the complete lack of a<br> > numerical keypad.<br> > <br> > This has only increased my desire to convert one of my Kinesis<br> > Advantage keyboards from the original Cherry browns to Cherry blues.<br> > With assistance from a friend who's an electronics tech, I've<br> > de-soldered all the switches in the hand wells but haven't done the<br> > central Space-Enter-Delete-Backspace pods - I think I'm going to leave<br> > them alone, although I've purchased enough keyswitches to do them if I<br> > decide to. The switches should arrive later in the week. One of the<br> > tricky bits about this process is that the Cherry blues aren't readily<br> > available with diodes in them, while the removed Cherry browns have<br> > diodes in to construct the keyboard matrix circuit. So we're going to<br> > have to solder a diode across two of the connectors on each switch.<br> > <br> > And moving into the Android world ... The physical keyboard for my<br> > Asus Transformer is among the worst mechanical keyboards I've ever<br> > encountered - it feels bad, it bounces or doesn't respond, and it's<br> > almost impossible to avoid hitting the touchpad. And yet if you have<br> > a Transformer, I would still recommend getting it for the battery, the<br> > extra ports, and the ability to type on a physical keyboard, no matter<br> > how bad.<br> > <br> > Virtual keyboards: if you're in the Android world, I highly recommend<br> > getting the totally free (no advertising, no nothing) "Hacker's<br> > Keyboard" from the Market. It has arrow keys (think about that).<br> > That allows Shift-arrow to select text. It has a Control key - which<br> > allows Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, and Ctrl-X for copy, paste, and cut. And it<br> > has a number row. Not sure how well this would work on a phone, but<br> > it's fantastic on a tablet. I've also been reasonably pleased with<br> > the SlideIT virtual keyboard, which costs money (not sure how much) -<br> > you slide your finger from one key to another to construct words. For<br> > most people, this will increase their text input speed considerably.<br> > I toggle back and forth between it and the Hacker's keyboard depending<br> > on what I'm working on: if it's scripting, Hacker's keyboard. If it's<br> > an email, SlideIT.<br> > <br> > Has anyone got Android to do Dvorak on a physical keyboard (without<br> > rooting or Cyanogen Mod)? Cyanogen Mod will likely be my final<br> > answer, but it's not considered stable on the Transformer yet. And I<br> > don't want to try to root it at the moment.<br> > <br> > Have a great day, and I hope to hear from some of you soon.<br> > <br> > -- <br> > Giles<br> > <a href="http://www.gilesorr.com/">http://www.gilesorr.com/</a><br> > gilesorr@...<br> ><br> <br> </p> </div> <!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStart|**|-~--> <div style="color: #fff; height: 0;">__._,_.___</div> <div id="ygrp-actbar" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 10px; white-space: nowrap; color: #666; padding-top: 15px;"> <div> <a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Keyboard%20news" style="margin-right: 0; padding-right: 0;"> Reply to <span style="font-weight: 700;">sender</span></a> | <a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Keyboard%20news"> Reply to <span style="font-weight: 700;">group</span></a> | <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altkeyboards/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJwOThydWFrBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1Nzk5ODIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3MjA4NTY0BG1zZ0lkAzM4OTYEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDcnBseQRzdGltZQMxMzMzNjAzNjMy?act=reply&messageNum=3896">Reply <span style="font-weight: 700;">via web post</span></a> | <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altkeyboards/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZHQyYzRtBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1Nzk5ODIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3MjA4NTY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA250cGMEc3RpbWUDMTMzMzYwMzYzMg--" style="font-weight: 700;">Start a New Topic</a> </div> <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altkeyboards/message/3892;_ylc=X3oDMTM0c2M3NThiBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1Nzk5ODIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3MjA4NTY0BG1zZ0lkAzM4OTYEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDdnRwYwRzdGltZQMxMzMzNjAzNjMyBHRwY0lkAzM4OTI-">Messages in this topic</a> (<span style="font-weight: 700;">4</span>) </div> <!------- Start Nav Bar ------> <!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| --> <div id="ygrp-vital" style="background-color: #e0ecee; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 10px;"> <span id="vithd" style="font-weight: bold; color: #333; text-transform: uppercase; ">Recent Activity:</span> <ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; display: inline;"> </ul> <div style="clear: both; padding-top: 2px; color: #1e66ae;"> <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altkeyboards;_ylc=X3oDMTJlYTY5YmI5BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1Nzk5ODIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3MjA4NTY0BHNlYwN2dGwEc2xrA3ZnaHAEc3RpbWUDMTMzMzYwMzYzMg--" style="text-decoration: none;">Visit Your Group</a> </div> </div> <div id="ygrp-grfd" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; padding: 15px 0;"> <!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| --> To Post a message, send it to: [email protected]<BR> To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: [email protected] <!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| --> </div> <div id="ft" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0 2px 0 0; clear: both;"> <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJkN2w1NWtjBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1Nzk5ODIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3MjA4NTY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2dmcARzdGltZQMxMzMzNjAzNjMy" style="float: left;"><img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/yg/logo/us.gif" height="15" width="137" alt="Yahoo! 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